Ask the Pros
Birth Plans
Birth Stories
Bookstore
Boy or Girl
Cesareans
Chat Room
Complications
Doulas
Educators
Episiotomy
FAQs
Feeding Baby
Fertility
Finding a Class
Health
Interactive
Labor
Message Board
Monitoring
Newborns
Postcards
Postpartum
Pregnancy
Reviews/Awards
Search
VBAC
Week by Week

Ask A Nurse
Testing

Amniocentisis

Should I have an amnio because of my age?
How accurate is an amnio?

AFP & Triple Screen

What else could cause positive results in an AFP?

Fetal Heart Problems

How is a fetal echocardiogram done?

Newborn Exams

Do I have to do the eye drops?
How will low APGAR scores affect my child later in life?

Shirley Wingate, RNC, CD, is an OB/GYN nurse with 12 years experience as an obstetrical nurse and childbirth educator. She is certified as a specialist in women's health and is an experienced labor and postpartum doula in private practice. She is the founder and director of "Birth Matters Inc." a prenatal and parenting resource and support center. Throughout her career she has been involved in developing, teaching and expanding services in the community to educate families and support them as they face the changes, challenges and choices that childbearing brings.

She feels that childbirth is a normal, natural and wondrous occasion and has confidence in a woman's ability to listen to her body and trust her instincts during childbirth. She believes that a laboring mothers thoughts, ideas and concerns should be given the utmost respect and feels that all women are entitled to a positive birth experience with rich rewards and feelings of accomplishment. She has been published in "The International Journal of Childbirth Education" and was a contributor to Polly Perez and Deaun Thelan's book on doula programs. She is also on the advisory council for the guidebook "Having Children, The Best Resources to Help You Prepare." She lives in the Midwest with her husband of 21 years and has a daughter and two sons.